Rejection
by gryffindor-princess21
Summary: It's not nice to be rejected. Everyone is rejected for some reason at sometime in their lives. For Hermione, it's been three times and it's the thing she's not most afraid of. Who won't reject her?


_Author's note: This is set in the trio's sixth year and there are references from the HBP throughout the story. This story may be a little confusing and have a few spelling and grammer errors that I'm yet to fix. This was a challenge and since it's due quite soon I had to rush it. So this defintely needs improving and suggestions are most welcome. I may rewrite this and extend the story, but I'll see what you guys think. So please review afterwards to let me know what you thought._

_Thanks and enjoy!_

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* * *

****Rejection**

_A Draco/Hermione short-story_

Hogwarts was usually quiet at night. All students were supposed to be in bed, sound asleep while the ghosts roamed peacefully through the corridors and the owls swooped in the night. There would be of course the occasional rule breaker (it was no surprise that Harry Potter was a regular customer to rule breaking after hours – with a good reason of course), but otherwise it was fairly peaceful.

Not for long.

A bushy haired girl stormed through the corridor, head in her hands. Her footsteps thundered on the stone floor, the echo in the empty corridor mixed with her heartbroken sobs that she had been dying to let out. She was searching for a place to let out all her emotions. A place where no one would bother her about what was going on and where she could properly think. Logically.

She reached her destination and strolled the corridor three times, mind set on a nice, small, but cosy room where she could let it all out. A door appeared on her third walk and she hurried over to it. She then stepped inside the room and slammed the door behind her. She stood still in the threshold for a couple of seconds before running over to a bunch of pillows and burying her face in them as the tears started falling.

It was several minutes before she resurfaced, hiccupping slightly as she tried to calm down. She wiped her eyes and sighed heavily, wondering how she had become so pathetic lately. She wasn't usually like this.

No, Hermione Granger was _not _pathetic. She wasn't the type of girl to cry over something silly like a broken heart. She was supposed to be more sensible than this.

But the thing was that she had never experienced something like _this_. No one had broken her heart as much as he had. In fact, he had no idea that he had broken her heart that badly. He was oblivious to Hermione's feelings about him; he didn't even notice the change in her behaviour towards him this year. He didn't even realise exactly why she was cranky at him.

Hermione laid her head on a pillow while hugging another one to her chest, breathing heavily while more tears fell down her cheeks. Why did it have to be one of her best friends, Ron Weasley? Why him? Why did she have to get a crush on him and try to get him to notice her more than a friend while he glued his face to Lavender Brown's? It didn't make sense at all and in Hermione's opinion, it was the one of the worst things she had ever done.

_What is the logic in my affection for him? _She wondered, brushing a stray curl back. _He's my friend so he already knows a lot about me. But we have fights all the time so would you call that a friendship? No, you wouldn't. Friends don't fight._

She sighed once again, shaking her head furiously. No, there was no logic in her affection. Maybe it was because he had matured slightly in looks with his face looking a little less freckly and he had grown taller (as he did every year), but he was still a lot like the boy she met in first year. Stubborn, sometimes didn't think before he spoke and had a huge stomach. Some crush she had.

Her eyes drifted over to the fireplace where a small fire was burning, warming her up slightly and bringing her some comfort. It looked slightly like the scarlet and gold fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, gold lions hardened into the frame with scarlet swirls around it. She stared into its depths for awhile, searching for the answers to her current problem. There were none.

She could have stayed in the tower except that she didn't want to be disturbed in her crying sessions. It was embarrassing having everyone around her asking what was wrong and what they could do to help. Besides, Ron's blonde bimbo of a girlfriend, Lavender was there in the dormitory and was Gryffindor's biggest gossiper. Hermione didn't feel like having everyone talk about her crying over a silly crush in the corridors tomorrow.

So she was glad there was the Room of Requirement. No one would know she was there and therefore wouldn't disturb her. She'll just stay here for a couple of hours and then head back to bed, where she would be disturbed with dreams of unrequited affection.

Hermione felt her eyes start to get heavy as she laid there, staring into the fire. Maybe she shouldn't bother going back to the dormitory; it would be cosy to sleep among pillows while a warm fire was going. No one would miss her surely. She smiled briefly as she closed her heavy eyelids to drift into a peaceful slumber.

_Bang, bang, BANG!_

Hermione's eyelids snapped open and she glanced over to the door. It was shaking slightly as someone appeared to be banging their fist quite heavily against the wood. She frowned and shifted slightly so she was more comfortable. Whoever it was could get lost, she was here first. She then heard a low growl from the other side.

"Fine, I'll just have to blast the door open."

_Go ahead and try, _Hermione thought bitterly, shutting her eyes again. Another big bang echoed around the room and then she heard a sneering voice, disturbing her attempt at a peaceful slumber.

"What are you doing here, Granger?"

Hermione groaned silently as she recognised the familiar voice. Draco Malfoy. Obnoxious and selfish Pureblood Slytherin. She did not want to deal with him while she was in this state.

"I wanted some privacy," she growled in reply. "That being said, go away."

The door then slammed and Hermione opened her eyes, hoping that he had gone away. He hadn't as footsteps echoed on the floor. She frowned and rolled over to find he was just inches from her face, his face expressionless. He drew back quickly, his sneer returning.

"Did you think you would make me leave that easily?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. No, she didn't think it would. "I'm sure you can recognise when a person wants to be alone, Malfoy," she replied coldly. "Why are you here anyway?"

"That's none of your business," Malfoy growled.

They glared at each other for a few moments, trying to intimidate the other. Hermione took the time to notice that Malfoy had grown up slightly this year, in looks.

He no longer slicked his hair back, instead letting the fringe hang over his eyes which Hermione had to admit looked better. His face was still set with the cold sneer he always had and his eyes were a misty grey, faint swirls of blue in them. He looked like he had grown a few inches taller and Hermione bet he would be towering over her when she would stand up.

But he also looked fairly ill. His skin was quite grey and there dark circles under his eyes, giving her the impression he wasn't getting enough sleep. She wondered what was wrong to make him look like that.

Malfoy smirked smugly. "Like what you see, Granger?"

Hermione growled and turned away, feeling the heat rush into her cheeks. How could she be staring at that smug brat? There was nothing good to stare at.

There was an odd silence for awhile during which Hermione could faintly hear Malfoy pace the room and mumbling under his breath every now and then. She guessed he wasn't going to leave any time soon. She glanced over at him, wondering what was going on in his head. He had a pained look on his face as he paced. Every now and then he glanced through the window while rubbing his left forearm. Something was wrong with him.

She rolled over and stared into the fire again before he caught her watching. She didn't need to hear him asking if she liked what she saw. What an absurd thing to ask!

"How long you been here, Granger?"

Hermione didn't bother to ask what he was talking about. "Nearly an hour," she replied. "I couldn't sleep."

"I can tell. I couldn't sleep either." She heard footsteps head over in her direction and she looked over her shoulder to see Malfoy sinking himself into an armchair nearby. "What are you crying over?"

"How do you know I was crying?" Hermione asked, staring back into the fire.

"Your eyes look red and your face is flushed."

"Oh," she mumbled. She didn't know why he was even asking, but she wasn't going to tell him anything. "Thanks for noticing, but like I said before, it's none of your business –"

"It's about Weasley, isn't it?"

Hermione's eyes widened. How did he know that?

As if he read her mind he added, "Oh come on, you and Weasley fight all the time – or should I say fought? You don't seem to hang around him or Scarhead anymore."

"You've been spying on me?" She found that hard to believe.

"Oh as _if! _Everyone's noticed that you don't hang around them anymore."

"That makes sense, I guess," Hermione replied. She rolled over and looked up at the blonde Slytherin, blinking a few times at him. "Why are you asking me this?"

He shrugged. "No reason."

Hermione frowned. "Well there's got to be a reason because normally, you wouldn't be asking me what is wrong and acting like you're concerned," she said. "Do you want something?"

"Not really."

"I don't believe you," she replied flatly.

He scowled at her. "Fine. I was just giving into my curiosity and try to make conversation at the same time. Forget that I even cared for a minute."

There was something in his eyes that told her otherwise though. Not only that, she noticed, but he looked upset and a little afraid. Something was wrong with him. He didn't even act like the confident, cocky boy she knew. Well he still was cocky, but not as much. She then remembered he said he couldn't sleep, like her.

"Why can't you sleep?" she asked, her voice gentle.

Malfoy glanced at her in astonishment. Obviously he hadn't expected that question and it had thrown him off guard. He sighed and looked down, fiddling with his hands in his lap. "I'm going through a rough time at the moment," he mumbled, avoiding Hermione's eyes. "And I don't know what to do about it. I just want someone to talk to … I feel so alone."

Hermione watched him sadly as he sat there, the expression on his face changing every few seconds. It seemed he was thinking hard on whatever was going on in his life, trying to find a way out. He sighed again, this time in a depressed tone and buried his head in his hands, digging his hands through his messy blonde locks.

She felt sorry for him; he was alone like her at the moment. Well, maybe not in the same concept, her loneliness was from the lack of returned love and affection. She had no idea what his loneliness was.

"You can talk to me, if you want," she said.

His head shot up so quickly Hermione was surprised she didn't hear his neck crack. "You?"

"Yes, me. Is there anything wrong with that? Oh right, you don't like to waste time talking to Mudbloods so forget I even –"

"No, I wasn't going to say that," Malfoy interrupted, his expression softening. "I was going to say that would be nice, to have someone to talk to."

Hermione froze; surprised he even accepted his offer. "Oh okay. Great, well do you want to talk now? Wait, what's the time?" She glanced up at the clock to see it was way past midnight. "It's getting really late."

"I'm not really up for talking tonight," Malfoy said, shaking his head. "How about tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure," Hermione answered. "Here?"

Malfoy nodded in response. "See you then, Granger." He got up and turned to leave, but paused when he was halfway towards the door. He turned round to face her again. "By the way, he's not worth crying over," he said, his tone serious. "You're better than that, Granger. You're too good for him anyway."

He smirked and walked to the door, gently closing it behind him.

Hermione sat exactly where she was for a few minutes, digesting Malfoy's last words. By his tone it did sound like he cared, even if he didn't want to admit it. It was completely unexpected of him to say those words, but she was thankful he did.

_Better him than Ginny or Parvati, _she reasoned. At least he wouldn't go telling anyone she had been crying. Well she hoped he wouldn't.

No, he wouldn't because she had also seen him looking upset and afraid. She could just easily tell Harry she had seen Malfoy at the early stages of breaking down – actually, she wouldn't because then it would lead to him asking why she was hanging around Malfoy anyway. She wouldn't be able to answer those questions.

_What's wrong with him? Why was he rubbing his forearm? _She wondered. He didn't tell her then, but maybe he would later when they would meet up again. She couldn't believe she suggested that he could talk to her and he agreed. But that was okay, at least she would have someone to talk to since she couldn't hang around Harry as he was always with Ron … and Ron was with Lavender.

The thought of the couple sickened her.

She sighed and left room, heading in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. She still hadn't succeeded in getting rid of her broken heart. She hoped it would be over soon and maybe someone else could capture and repair her heart.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was difficult.

Hermione always knew that he was difficult as long as she knew him. He was difficult to get along with, difficult to not take the hurtful comments he aimed at her to heart and difficult to ignore his smugness overall. He had proved himself to be a difficult person in every way the first moment Hermione laid eyes on him.

But these days, he was difficult in a different way.

Malfoy had accepted her offer and they met three times a week in the Room of Requirement to talk, though it was mainly Hermione that was doing the talking. The purpose of their meetings was for him to talk to her about the problems he was having. But in all of their meetings so far, he was the one who was asking what problems she had.

She didn't mind that he was asking about her own problems which really surprised her. He was a good listener and that was all she needed. He didn't interrupt her nor did he give advice she didn't need. He only gave her his opinion when she asked for it and had so far not throw an insult at her since their first encounter in the Room of Requirement over three weeks ago.

So in many aspects, he wasn't being as difficult as he used to be anymore. But he still hadn't opened up to her. She didn't think he would do so right away, seeing as though they had only started to become civil. He would open up sometime, when he was ready.

Hermione sighed as she sat in the Room of Requirement, waiting for Malfoy to turn up. She wondered what could be possibly bothering him this year as he certainly wasn't the same boy she knew before. The Malfoy she knew these days wouldn't be asking her about her problems and actually listening without adding a nasty comment. She had to find out soon exactly what it was.

After sitting by herself for a few minutes, she heard the door open and she turned around to see Malfoy shuffle in, eyes scanning the room to see who was inside. His eyes rested on her and he froze, merely staring at her for a few seconds.

"What are you looking at?" Hermione snapped.

"You seem a little different," Malfoy replied, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione rolled her eyes in response. "What, you've finally realised Mudbloods are not so bad looking?"

Malfoy groaned and screwed his eyes shut tightly. "I really wish you would _stop _bringing that word up in my face every single time we meet." He walked over to where she was and sat down on the other armchair, facing her. "So, how was your day?" he asked, placing his hands on his lap.

Hermione wondered why he always started with that question. He made it seem like they were talking as if they were good friends, but they weren't yet. She assumed it was a way of avoiding talking about his problems, which she had not yet be able to ask about. But there was one thing she wanted to know right now.

"What took you so long to get here?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "You were meant to be here half an hour ago!"

"Is that how long you've been waiting?" Malfoy sniggered under his breath. "Haven't you got anything else better to do? Like homework?"

"I did that while I waited for you!" Hermione snapped. "Where have you been?"

Malfoy sighed. "I was at the Owlery," he explained. "I needed to send a letter. While I was there though, an owl arrived and it had a letter for you."

"For me?" Hermione asked.

Malfoy nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out an envelope that was slightly scutched up. Hermione took it and turned it over to see who it was from. She recognised the writing immediately and squealed.

Malfoy frowned at her. "If you don't mind me asking, who sent you a letter that would make you squeal like a little girl?"

Hermione glanced up at him. "It's from Viktor."

"Viktor Krum?"

Hermione nodded, starting to open the envelope.

"How long have you been writing to him?"

"Since the end of fourth year," she replied as she pulled out the letter. "We're really good friends, but I – I sometimes feel more than that for him. And I think he feels the same way about me."

"How do you know?" Malfoy asked, raising his eyebrows. "Has he given you any sign that he does? He could be just leading you on because you're a young woman and therefore more vulnerable to having your heart broken. Any guy who does that doesn't deserve to be with you."

"What's wrong, Malfoy?" Hermione smirked. "You jealous?"

Malfoy snorted. "Me? Jealous? As if!" But a blush was slightly creeping up his neck which told Hermione otherwise.

She smirked at him again and started to read the letter from Viktor, excited to have finally heard from him. He hadn't written to her for about four months now and she had been getting fairly worried. Though reading the first few paragraphs of the letter, it seemed he had been fairly busy with Quidditch training and touring. She smiled, but it soon faded as she got to the second last paragraph. Her eyes started to water and she felt her lip tremble.

Malfoy, who had been fiddling with his hands as she read the letter, soon became aware that something wasn't right and glanced to see Hermione looking like she was about to cry. "Granger, are you okay?" he asked. He realised afterwards that was a stupid question to asked, but that was all he could think of.

Hermione gave a weak sob and the tears fell rapidly down her cheeks as she started to cry. "He – he doesn't like me the way I do," she whispered. "He also says he's too busy to write to me anymore and that the distance is too great."

"Let me see," Malfoy said, holding out his hand.

Hermione handed him the letter and he scanned the paragraph quickly, eyes widening in shock at the words he read. He looked back up at her, his expression softening to one of concern.

"He's being a jerk, Granger," he said, holding the letter out to her. "He shouldn't be treating you or anyone like that. Distance too great? What a load of rubbish."

"Throw it in the fire," Hermione whispered. "I don't want to read it again."

Malfoy crumbled the letter into a ball and tossed it into the fire, his aim right on target and landing in the middle of the flames. It burned instantly, slowly turning the parchment to ashes. The two teenagers watched the flames dance around it, both silently thinking about Viktor's words.

"I can't believe I wasted a lot of time thinking about him," Hermione spoke up, sighing heavily. "Just like I've done with Ron. And - oh, I had two crushes at the same time!" She buried her head in her hands. "How stupid of me!"

She began to sob again, her body shaking uncontrollably. She felt a hand lay upon hers and she glanced up to see Malfoy gazing at her, his expression serious.

"You don't need him," he said, gently rubbing his thumb against her skin. "I said before you deserve better than Weasley, but you also deserve better than Krum. And you haven't really wasted a lot of time thinking about him, you've thought about other things besides him. Homework, house-elf rights, your friends, me." He smirked at the last example.

Hermione sighed and wiped the tears away. "I can't believe I've just been rejected," she whispered.

"Hey, it happens to everyone," Malfoy replied softly. "Look at me." He lifted her chin up so she was looking back at him. "Even I have been rejected and it's not nice. But you can't dwell on it, you have to move on. You're a strong girl, Granger, you'll get over him. And years later you'll think, why the hell did I bother? But at least you will have learnt something, won't you?"

Hermione nodded. "Thanks, Malfoy," she said, smiling a little.

"You're welcome," he replied, returning the smile.

Silence fell between them and they just stared at each other, both forgetting that Malfoy hadn't let go of her chin yet. He soon realised that and released her, backing away slightly. He cleared his throat. "So, how are you going with that Potions essay Slughorn set?" he asked, changing the subject.

Hermione smiled smugly. "I already finished it," she answered.

"Damn. Would you be able to help me?" he asked. "I'm kind of behind on it."

"Of course," she replied. He seemed to be saying that a lot lately, asking her to help him with some homework because he was behind in it. It was like Harry and Ron asking her for help on their homework. Although, they asked because they left it to the last minute as they were too lazy to do it. She wondered why Malfoy hadn't done it before now. Maybe it had something to do with whatever problems he was hiding.

And she wished he would tell her just what they were.

* * *

Slughorn's Christmas party was coming up soon. And Hermione still didn't have a date.

She had been trying to think who she was going to take. It was easy at first because she assumed she was going to take Ron. He would have complained about being left out as Harry was also invited, but that fell through when he started complaining about not being invited in the first place during Herbology a while back. She had been cranky about that incident ever since.

Besides, she couldn't take him now that he was _Lavender Brown's _property.

She then about asking Harry if they could go together, but then she realised it would be awkward because he was like a brother to her. So no way she was going to ask him.

She considered Malfoy, but he was totally out of the question. Sure, he was nice to her these days and would be willing to help her out for one night, but there were three things wrong with that. One, he was a Slytherin. Two, he was – well, a Malfoy and three Harry would have a fit if he saw her with Malfoy in the first place. Ron would probably explode with rage if he heard that Hermione took Malfoy.

With that thought in mind, she knew she had to take someone that would greatly annoy Ron. It would serve him right for getting with that blonde bimbo. The first person who came to mind was Zacharias Smith, but she honestly didn't want to hear him bag out Harry all night long. And that was the only person she could think of so she still didn't know who to take.

So she confined in the one person who could help her out. Malfoy, of course.

"Why don't you take me? That would annoy the hell out of him," he said, smirking smugly.

"I actually did consider that, but everyone else would make a fuss," Hermione explained. "Besides, your friend Zabini would be at the party. What would he say if he saw you with a Mudblood?"

"I keep telling you not to say that word," Malfoy muttered. "Oh yeah, I forgot that he was in Slughorn's exclusive club." He scratched his head and frowned thoughtfully. "You honestly can't think of anyone else to take?"

Hermione shook her head.

"What about Boy Wonder?"

"We're like brother and sister, it would be too weird."

Malfoy quirked an eyebrow, but didn't enquire any further. "Thomas?"

"He's going out with Ginny."

"Zacharias Smith?"

"Ugh, no," Hermione scowled. "Although, I did consider him, but he just annoys me a lot."

"That Irish guy … uh, what's his name?"

"You mean Seamus Finnigan? No, not my type."

"Not your type?" Malfoy asked. He laughed. "If he's not your type, than what _is _your type?"

Hermione rubbed her chin. "I like guys that are nice, smart, considerate of others, confident and are sincere. I like to be able to have a good conversation and for him to actually listen."

"Ah, I see. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Granger, but your choice is fairly limited in this school. And I think all the guys that would fit 'your type' would have been taken by now."

Hermione sighed heavily. She thought her dream man was far out of reach, especially here at Hogwarts. Well, she only needed a date for one night so it wouldn't matter who she picked. If she liked the guy she took, then maybe she would consider meeting with him again.

She thought hard about who Ron hated the most. It took her awhile because she just kept thinking of various Slytherins. Then she finally got it.

"Cormac McLaggen," she said.

"Huh?" Malfoy looked up at her. "What, is he your type? I don't think so. He's selfish, talks nothing except how many saves he makes in Quidditch and –"

"Exactly," Hermione smiled. "No, he isn't my type, but he is the person that really annoys Ron. And like you can talk, you're selfish too!"

"Hey! I'm not as bad as _him_!" Malfoy exclaimed, shaking his head. Hermione was surprised that he practically spat out the last word like venom. She wondered once again whether he was jealous, but dismissed it immediately. That was a ridiculous thought.

"So you're going to ask him then?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.

Hermione didn't know what it was, but she felt like she wasn't getting much oxygen into her lungs. Even though Malfoy wasn't leaning too close to her, he seemed to make her feel suddenly breathless and she had no idea why. His blonde locks fell in front of his eyes as he gazed at her, waiting for her answer. She longed to brush them away so she could see his eyes properly.

"Yes," she whispered, nodding. "Yes, I'm going to ask him. But it will be just one night."

Malfoy sighed heavily. Clearly he didn't agree with her choice, but he would just have to go along with it. There was no other solution. "Good luck. You'll need it," he replied, his tone serious.

Hermione didn't respond to his last words. She felt they didn't require an answer anyway. Malfoy was warning her about absolutely nothing. She would be fine, it was only one night. Being with McLaggen for one night wouldn't hurt, would it?

* * *

Merlin, she now wished she hadn't thought of taking McLaggen.

After being with him for about five minutes, Hermione began to regret her decision. She had dressed up as nicely as she could, wearing red robes with silver trimmings and silver jewellery to match. Her hair was tamed into soft curls and she made them fall neatly around her face. She didn't put on much make-up, but enough to hide any blemishes and to make her skin look smooth, along with light red lipstick. It had taken her over two hours to get ready and she hoped that she would look okay for McLaggen.

But not once had he complimented her.

Instead, he talked about Quidditch. Actually, it was "A Hundred Great Saves Made By Cormac McLaggen" and why he should have been on the team. Hermione had by now lost count at how many times he repeated the story of the time where he play in his Junior League final in the storm with the chicken pox and had managed to make seventeen saves. It seemed to be his favourite as he constantly mentioned it. She tried to tune out, but it was difficult to do so.

And when he wasn't talking about Quidditch, he wanted to snog the living daylights out of her! Hermione had so far been caught at least three times under the mistletoe with him and was disgusted the third time this happened as he tried to take things further. Ugh, this was not how she imagined having fun at Slughorn's Christmas party at all.

She most certainly was _not_ having fun.

She wished she had taken Smith instead. At least she would be able to have a proper conversation and not be able to hear about Quidditch all the time. Plus he wouldn't try to snog her every five minutes.

But she really wished she had been able to take Malfoy. It would have be slightly awkward, but they could have act as if they were meeting in the Room of Requirement. Like Smith, she would be able to have a proper conversation with him and actually have the opportunity to talk about herself. She had been disgusted that McLaggen had not asked a single question about her yet and every time she tried, he would snog her!

She knew if she had taken Malfoy, he wouldn't have attempted to kiss her. Even if they were under the mistletoe. He didn't like her in that way and it would be way out of line to kiss him. He seemed to be the type of person who avoided any type of affection at all so he certainly wouldn't like to be kissed. Unless he was the one who did it first.

Hermione groaned as she stood in a cupboard, leaning against the walls. At the moment, she was hiding from McLaggen and refused to come out until she was completely sure he couldn't see her in sight. Once he wasn't around, she was going to make her escape to the door and out into the corridor to head back to the dormitories. Nothing much was happening anyway and no one else would miss her.

She slowly opened the door and peaked out, looking out for the wannabe Keeper in the crowd. She couldn't see him anywhere which was a good sign. She was about to step out when she spotted a familiar blonde head amongst the crowd.

It was Malfoy.

Filch was holding him by the ear and looked extremely cross. As Hermione watched, Malfoy jerked out of the caretaker's grip, fuming.

"Alright, I wasn't invited!" she heard him say, glaring at everyone around him. "I was trying to gatecrash, happy?"

Hermione's eyes widened. _He was going to gatecrash? Why? _It wasn't surprising that he was furious that he wasn't invited; his tone when he talked about Zabini being in 'the exclusive club' told her so. But she didn't think he would go to such lengths to get in.

Slughorn didn't seem to mind though and she heard him say that Malfoy could stay. It was Christmas, after all.

He didn't seem to stay long though. He soon followed Snape out of the room, not looking awfully happy to do so. Hermione frowned thoughtfully and tapped her chin as she noticed Harry suddenly disappearing out of thin air. No doubt he was going to try to overhear what those two were going to talk about.

She wanted to as well.

But she spotted McLaggen and she quickly hid in the cupboard, not wanting to be seen again. She waited a good five minutes before checking again. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. She sighed in relief and pushed the door open, stepping outside.

It was easy to weave her way through the crowd without anyone looking twice; there were a lot of people there. She emerged into the cold corridor, shivering slightly as she looked around wearily, wondering where to go now. She walked away from the door and headed down to the end of the corridor and turned left. As she did so, she spotted a black robe flowing around the corner at the end. Her gut instinct told her that was the person she was after.

She hurried down the corridor, trying to find where Malfoy had gotten off to. She really wanted to talk to him, especially after she was just rejected by McLaggen and having seen him leave the room with Snape. She wanted to know what was wrong.

She turned the corner and froze, her hand upon the wall. There, sitting against one of the glass windows was Malfoy. His head was facing the window, but Hermione could see that he looked fairly cranky and troubled at the same time. He was hugging his knees to his chest and rested his head upon them as he gazed out the window, hair slightly ruffled and untidy. She slowly approached him, knowing it wasn't wise to suddenly jump in front of him.

"Malfoy?"

His head jerked up at the sound of his name and he turned to look at her. His eyes widened at seeing her and they roamed over her body, admiring her appearance.

"Hermione?" he whispered.

He clapped his hands over his mouth after he said that, shocked that he had just said her first name. Hermione's jaw dropped, wondering why he called her 'Hermione' instead of 'Granger'. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue.

"Did you just call me 'Hermione'?" she asked, her eyes widening.

Malfoy lowered his hands. "Yeah … I think I just did," he answered, not meeting her eyes. He sat up straight and stretched his legs, flexing his feet slowly. "How's the party going?" he asked.

Hermione groaned. "I don't really want to answer that," she mumbled.

Malfoy smirked. "McLaggen isn't not a good person to date then?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, he isn't. I wish I never took him because he is such a jerk!"

"I warned you," Malfoy said, nodding his head. "I said he wasn't your type and your type does not include jerks like that." He moved his legs from the window ledge he was sitting on and patted the empty spot next to him. "Sit down; I want to hear all about it."

Hermione hesitated before walking over to the window ledge and sitting down next to him. "You don't want to hear about everything that was going on," she replied, taking her shoes off, they were starting to hurt her feet. "I'll just give you a summary. All he talks about is Quidditch and how many darn goals he has saved since the age of three. And then in between all that, he snogs me! I got caught under the mistletoe at least three times and I almost fainted once because I couldn't breathe properly for five minutes!"

"Did he even comment on your –" Malfoy began.

"No, he didn't comment on how I looked!" Hermione exclaimed, shaking her head. "In fact, I don't think he even noticed how I look at all! He wouldn't let me talk at all actually and when I tried to talk about myself, he would start talking about Quidditch again or he would kiss me!" She felt tears grow in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away before Malfoy saw. "No one noticed how I looked actually," she muttered.

"I did, just then," Malfoy replied quietly. "And you want to know what I think?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you look beautiful."

Hermione's head snapped up and she turned to look at him, her jaw dropping in shock again. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied softly.

He reached out and tucked a curl behind her ears, his fingers just brushing against her skin. He rested his fingers there while gazing into her honey brown eyes through his silver blue orbs. Hermione's heart started to beat faster against her chest as he slowly leaned towards her, closing his eyes. She did too and then –

A door slam echoed through the corridor and a sound of footsteps hurried away, fading as they ran further down the corridor away from the teenagers. Hermione opened her eyes and jumped away from Malfoy, afraid of being caught sitting so close to him.

Malfoy released his hold on her and retreated, breathing heavily. They stared at each other for awhile, shocked at what they were just about to do. Hermione then cleared her throat discreetly and looked away. She breathed in and out slowly, trying to control the rush of many thoughts and emotions that were running in her head, trying to make sense as to why he was leaning towards her. She didn't come to a conclusion.

"Are you going to go back to the party?" she heard Malfoy ask.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't really want to face McLaggen again," she answered. She sighed and tucked a few more curls behind her ear, her skin tingling from where Malfoy's fingers had been resting earlier. "Why were you at the party, by the way?" she asked, turning back to him.

"I was trying to gatecrash."

"I heard that," she said, frowning at him. "But I want to know why you did that. Was it just you acting like a naughty little boy as usual or did you have a motive?"

Malfoy sighed and looked away, biting his lip nervously. "I was trying to sneak in to see you," he replied, fiddling with his hands in his lap. "I was worried about you being with McLaggen and so I wanted to check if you were okay. That's all."

Hermione felt like her heart had melted as he said those words while a wonderful warm, fuzzy feeling flowed through her body. It sounded like he actually cared about her (which she admitted was _very _unlike Malfoy) and she felt touched that he would gatecrash a party just to check she was alright.

"But why?" she asked. That's the question she wanted to know. "Why were you worried about me?"

Malfoy sighed again and glanced over at her. "I know this will sound very unlike me, but I've come to care about you as a friend since we've been meeting up. Especially after Krum wrote that letter. I don't want to see you get hurt the same way he hurt you again and I'll do anything to make sure of that."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks Draco, that means –" she gasped and covered her mouth.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What did you call me?"

"I think I just called you 'Draco'," she replied, lowering her hands. "You don't mind, do you?"

Draco shook his head, smiling sweetly at her. "No, I don't."

"Good. Now, would you like to tell me why Snape took you out into the corridor to talk?"

Draco's smile faded and he avoided Hermione's gaze. "I don't really want to talk about it right now," he muttered, screwing his face up.

Hermione nodded and laid a hand upon his arm. "You have to talk about it sometime though. You can't keep a secret forever, Draco. You must tell me sometime what's been bothering you."

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I will one day." He then stood up and started to walk away from her before he paused and turned back around to admire her. "You really do look beautiful, Hermione," he whispered, his tone sincere.

Hermione blushed. "Thanks Draco. I'm glad you think so."

"You're welcome," he replied. He smiled at her one last time before turning round and heading back down the corridor.

Hermione watched him leave her, feeling a great sense of loss as he walked further away into the distance. She didn't want it was, but an odd, wonderful warm sensation flowed through her veins when he called her beautiful. It made her feel like she was the only girl in the world when he said those words, especially since he meant it. And her heart was still beating at the same rate as it was when he started to lean in towards her …

Hermione rubbed her chin thoughtfully, wondering what it all meant. She then gasped aloud and looked back at where he had disappeared, feeling lighter than air as she thought of his handsome face. Yep, that had to be the answer. No mistakes about it.

She had a crush on Draco Malfoy.

* * *

_Two months later …_

Gosh Draco Malfoy was such a good boy to look at.

She was staring at him again (actually the back of him) as she sat in Charms, leaning her head against her fist. She admired how the sunlight from the window touched his platinum blonde hair and made it shine white gold. The way his hair was slightly ruffled in the back seemed to be annoying her and she wished to run her fingers through it, to neaten it somehow.

She watched him silently as he worked on the essay she had already finished, head down and quill flying across the page. He paused every now and then to make a comment to Zabini who was sitting next to him, nodding at whatever the fellow Slytherin said. A few times she suspected he knew she was looking at him and she quickly looked away whenever she thought he was turning around. He hadn't caught her yet … but it was only a matter of time.

Hermione sighed and rubbed her eyes, feeling a little sleepy. She and Draco had been out late again, talking in the Room of Requirement for about four hours last night. Four hours she had lost herself in those beautiful eyes that looked like calm grey clouds with flecks of blue in them. She only managed to get to sleep around three and woke up at six-thirty to check she had finished all her homework, but she didn't mind.

The conversations they shared could probably have gone on for ages if there wasn't a time restriction. He had been really helpful when it came to the subject of guys and Hermione had long got over Viktor and McLaggen. She hadn't completely got over Ron yet, those fluttering feelings about him were still around … but not as much as it used to be.

She got the butterflies around Draco these days.

She didn't know what it was that drove her crazy. The way he styled his hair or how his eyes seemed to sparkle whenever he looked her way. Or maybe the smile he gave her, the smile that seemed to make her breathless. Why? Because before they become friends, he had never smiled, just smirked. And to see that smile was just amazing.

Yes, it was that smile. It seemed to be a special smile reserved for her because he always just smirked at everyone else.

She sighed dreamily, closing her eyes as she tried to remember their conversation from last night. Her dream didn't last long as she heard a flutter and felt something light land upon her palm. She opened her eyes and spotted a neatly folded piece of parchment, with her name written on it. She recognised the hand writing and opened it eagerly.

_**H.G,**_

_**How you are going with that essay? Enjoying admiring the back of me? Don't act all innocent, I know it's you. I'm rather flattered you would rather look at me than do your work, but it's highly unusual, isn't it?**_

_**Anyway, the point of this letter is to ask you to meet me at the Room of Requirement an hour after dinner. I know you must be getting sick of me and think we're spending way too much time together, but I really need to talk to you about something that's really important. Please come.**_

_**D.M.**_

Hermione glanced up to see Draco turned round in his seat and looking right at her, smiling fondly. She felt the butterflies come alive again, fluttering around in anticipation as she realised that he did know she was staring at him. He probably had eyes at the back of his head that she wasn't aware of.

But back to pressing matters at hand, the reason of his letter. She wondered why he was checking that they were meeting up again. He knew she would be coming so why did he ask? It must be something urgent.

She quickly wrote her reply, grinning in amusement.

_**D.M,**_

_**I finished my essay about fifteen minutes ago and it's not my fault you're sitting in front of me! I have no where else to look, but you. Glad you're flattered I'm even looking.**_

_**I'm not getting sick of you at all and of course I'll meet you at the Room of Requirement. You already know I'll be there anyway, it's like a routine, meeting up with you. And if it's really important, I'll be there. See you after dinner then.**_

_**H.G.**_

She sent her reply over in Draco's direction, watching it flutter smoothly before landing in front of him. He scanned it quickly and nodded over at her before going back to his work.

Hermione decided she was going to read her Charms textbook for the rest of the lesson. She didn't want to get caught by Draco for looking at him again nor did she want anyone else to know she was eyeing him. Especially Harry. He would have a fit if he realised what was going on.

She immersed herself in the book, while wondering what he had to tell her tonight. In a few hours, she would know exactly what it was.

* * *

Later that night, Hermione hurried along the corridors to reach the Room of Requirement before Draco thought she wasn't coming. She had preoccupied herself with homework for most of the evening, as she quickly ate her dinner within fifteen minutes so she could avoid seeing Ron with Lavender again. The sight was just disgusting.

At least seeing Draco would take her mind off them.

She wondered what he was going to tell her. Was he finally going to tell her why he was so different this year? He hadn't told her anything about his own problems as of yet. The only ones he talked about were homework and Pansy constantly bothering him. So perhaps tonight she was finally finding out what was wrong with him.

She reached the wall where the Room of Requirement was hidden and paced three times, thinking of a place to meet Draco in. The door appeared on her third walk past and she walked in, spotting Draco sitting on the cushions by the fire.

"Hi," she greeted, as she closed the door behind her.

He didn't answer her, but instead stared into the fire, fiddling with his hands. He probably didn't hear her. She walked over to him and sat down next to him, eyeing him curiously. He didn't seem to notice her as she down, continuing to stare into the fire with a regretful expression in his eyes and looking as if he was going to break down at any moment. Hermione grew worried and she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

He jumped and glanced at her, his eyes widening in surprise. "You came," he whispered.

"Of course I did, I always will come," Hermione smiled.

He didn't return the smile and instead looked back at the fire, watching it flicker weakly. Hermione sighed sadly and gently rubbed her hand against his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He sighed heavily and laid his hand on top of hers, making Hermione jump slightly in surprise. "I've done something terrible," he answered, lowering his head.

"What?" Hermione replied softly, looking worriedly at him.

He lifted his head up to meet her eyes, with the same regretful expression. "I have to show you something," he said, his tone serious. "You're not supposed to know, but I can't go on like this anymore. The guilt is just eating me up, I have to tell you." He gently pushed her hand off his shoulder, eyes staring back at the floor.

Hermione waited, wondering what he was going to show her. Her heart was thumping against her chest in anticipation, feeling like it was about to burst. Several moments passed as Draco took deep breaths and closed his eyes, a tear falling down his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." He then reached a hand towards the left sleeve of his robes and slowly pulled it back. Hermione gasped in alarm as she saw what was upon his left forearm.

The Dark Mark.

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her throat had seemed to close up and she felt like she was going to be sick. It couldn't be true, it couldn't be true. She did not just see the black skull with a snake coming out of its mouth upon Draco's arm. She just didn't.

She looked again and gasped again. She hadn't imagined it, the Dark Mark was there.

Draco pulled the sleeve down and sniffed, his head bowed. "I didn't want to do it," he mumbled. "Believe me, I didn't want to go through with it, but I had to. He would have killed my parents otherwise and I didn't want that. I'm so sorry." More tears fell down his cheeks as he said those words, taking in shaky breaths.

Hermione didn't answer, her eyes staring at the place where the Dark Mark had just been.

Draco raised his head to meet her eyes, but she wouldn't look at him. "Well, aren't you going to say something?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "This is what you've been waiting to hear for the past few months, isn't it? Potter's been suspecting me as a Death Eater and now you have the proof in front of you."

Still, Hermione didn't answer. She was remembering when she and Draco had run into each other in this very room. He had been rubbing his left forearm, the exact place where she had just seen the Dark Mark. Why didn't she think of it before? It was so obvious!

"Hermione, please say something," Draco whispered, his tone sounding desperate.

Hermione finally met his eyes, seeing the desperation within them, begging her to understand. She merely glared at him, anger boiling inside of her.

"How could you?" she hissed. "How could you do this?"

Before Draco could respond, she jumped up and hurried out of the room and out into the chilly corridor. She ran down the corridor, feeling the tears brimming in her eyes. She could faintly hear someone running after her and calling out her name.

"Hermione!"

She ignored the voice and skidded round the corner, hurrying down the Grand Staircase as fast as she could. Paintings and lights whizzed past as she ran down the staircase, her footsteps echoing in the silent atmosphere. Thunder sounded from outside and lightening flashed through the windows, but Hermione didn't take any notice. She needed to get away from the boy that had just broken her heart, without even knowing it.

"Hermione! Wait up!"

She could hear Draco running a couple of floors above, attempting to catch up with her. She ran faster, wanting to get as far away from him as possible. She couldn't bare to look at him, now that he had shown her his mark. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart when he pulled the sleeve up. Stabbed it and cut it in two, leaving her feeling like a hollow shell that couldn't be filled.

"Hermione, stop!"

It couldn't be happening to her again, it just couldn't. Now that he was a Death Eater, she didn't stand a chance of ever having a imitate relationship with him. She would be rejected again and go through the pain she went through with trying to get over Ron, Viktor and McLaggen.

Draco wouldn't want to be with her. He probably didn't even feel the same way she did. He would now want to go back to the way things were before they became friends, just ignoring each other and throwing insults whenever they did bump into each other.

Hermione reached the Entrance Hall and ran towards the huge doors that led out into the grounds. She pushed them open and ran out into the dark grounds as another clap of thunder echoed and the heavens opened up. Rain fell down upon the brunette as she sprinted across the grounds, in an effort to get away from the blonde Slytherin.

She skidded on the wet ground and fell backwards, her backside landing in the mud. She gave a loud sob and started crying, burying her head in her hands as she felt the tears roll down her cheeks. She felt her robes stick to her body as the rain continued to fall upon her, unaware of the footsteps hurrying towards her until a familiar voice spoke.

"Hermione?"

She gasped and turned round to see Draco looking worriedly at her. "Stay away from me!" she ordered, backing away from him.

"Hermione, please listen to me, I can explain," Draco begged, taking a step towards her.

"Don't bother! Whatever you say, I won't listen!" Hermione shouted. She got off the ground and started to run away from him again. She then felt him grab her arm quite roughly and she turned round to face him. "I said stay away from me," she growled.

"No, I won't," Draco replied, determination in his eyes.

His blonde hair was wet and sticking to his forehead from the cause of being in the rain, a couple of strands blocking his vision slightly. His uniform was already soaking wet with the white shirt appearing see through so Hermione could make out the outline of his well toned chest. She tried not to let the sight distract her, even though he looked extremely handsome when in the rain.

"What could you possibly say to explain why you have the Mark on your arm?" she asked, trying to jerk her arm out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go.

Draco sighed heavily. "I got the Mark during the summer, after my father was sent to Azkaban and I was given a task to fulfil. I can't tell you what that task consists of though. I didn't want to accept it, but if I refused to do it, the Dark Lord would have killed my mother. She's the only family I have left that actually cares about me … well, the only person I know who cares about me too."

_Don't say that, _Hermione thought absent-mildly. _I care about you, more than you think. _She tried to shut that voice up.

"Why didn't you look for other options?" she asked, raising her voice above the noise of the rain. "You could have gone to the Order and they would have protected you and your mother from him! Why didn't you?"

"You don't know what he's like, Hermione!" Draco shouted, breathing heavily. "He would hunt down me and my mother and kill us! Getting the Mark was my only option!"

Hermione couldn't believe he was being so stubborn about this. He didn't seem to realise that things could have been different if he hadn't taken the Mark and gone to the Order instead. He would have been safe and not have to do this task, whatever it was. He wouldn't be so distant and losing sleep from constantly worrying about the task.

And Hermione wouldn't have to go through the heartbreak of not being able to get closer to him. She would also not be as afraid of him as she was now.

She jerked her arm out of his grip and turned away from him. "Just leave me alone, Malfoy. Don't make me feel more afraid than I already do." She started to walk away from him, tears falling down her cheeks along with the rain. She gulped and held her hands to mouth. She wasn't going to break down in front of him, she wouldn't allow it.

"What are you afraid of, Hermione?" she heard Draco asked, his tone serious. "You said you were afraid, but what is it?"

Hermione sighed heavily. "I'm afraid of you," she answered, lowering her head. "I'm afraid of learning who you really are. A Death Eater. Like father, like son. We're now on opposite sides of the war … and I'm scared of what's going to happen in this war. With You-Know-Who gathering followers, the Light Side doesn't stand a chance."

She exhaled slowly, trying to control the rush of emotions pumping through her veins, knowing that wasn't the full reason she was afraid. At least she wasn't looking directly at him. She wouldn't be able to control her emotions well enough if she did. She was about to turn around and head back inside before the rain caused her to have a cold when she heard his voice clearly through the night air.

"No, that's not what you're afraid of."

Hermione wheeled round to face him, frowning darkly. "You think I'm lying?" she snapped. "It is what I am afraid so don't tell me it's not."

"No, you're not afraid of that," Draco insisted, shaking his head.

"Then what? Tell me, Malfoy, what am I afraid of?"

Draco stepped closer to her, ignoring the rain that was falling heavily upon them. "You're afraid of rejection," he answered.

Thunder echoed loudly throughout the grounds again, drowning out his last words. Hermione had faintly heard what he said, but she wasn't sure if he really said that.

"What did you say I was afraid of?" she shouted, raising her voice above the thunder.

"Rejection," Draco repeated. "You're afraid of rejection. And before you ask, I'll tell you why," he added before Hermione could interrupt.

"You had a relationship with Viktor, but it didn't last because he couldn't handle the long distance between you. Then there was Weasley, he doesn't know you ever liked him as more than a friend and he's now with Brown while you cry over him. You only now realised you liked him, but you're afraid to tell him because you're friends and you might lose the friendship if it doesn't last or he feels differently. Then there was McLaggen –"

"I never felt anything for McLaggen! That was to annoy Ron!" Hermione interrupted.

"- who was just a way to annoy Weasley, I was getting there," Draco continued. "Yes, he wasn't one of those people you were head over heels over and one you would be afraid of rejecting you. But yet he only wanted to snog you, not get to know you personally as well. And then there's me."

Hermione's eyes widened and she stared at him in shock. "You?"

"Yes, me. You're afraid because now I have the Dark Mark and on the opposing side you think I'll push you away. Try and forget that we even had a friendship and go back to how we were a couple of months ago. But even though you think I would be able to do that so easily, you wouldn't cope. It would be like being rejected by Weasley or any other boy, but worse because you've fallen for the enemy."

Hermione continued to stare at him, her mouth opened in shock. How did he figure that out? How did he know that was exactly what she was feeling about him and that she was worried he was going to reject her? Push her away and forget that she mattered to him at all.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

He wasn't just right, he had hit the jackpot. She couldn't deny that. It was obvious now. She was in too much shock to speak so she settled for nodding.

A small smirk tugged at his lips. "I knew I was right. I can read you like a book." He dropped the smirk and adopted a serious expression. "But you're wrong about one thing," he said.

"And that is?" Hermione asked, finally finding her voice.

He took another few steps closer to her, so close their bodies were almost touching. Hermione felt like she couldn't breathe and her heart started pounding against her chest. Her breaths quickened as Draco leaned towards her ear, his hands resting upon her shoulders.

"I'm not going to reject you," he whispered, his lips just brushing the skin. "You've already filled my empty heart. To push you away would kill me."

Hermione's eyes widened even more, but before she could think about what he just said, he pulled away slightly and gazed into her eyes. Then, after a second's hesitation, he tilted his head slightly to press his mouth against hers.

Hermione gasped silently, but Draco didn't pull away, instead gently caressing her lips with his. She couldn't believe what was happening. It had to be a dream, it was a dream. Draco Malfoy wasn't kissing her, was he?

No, he certainly was kissing her. He had his eyes closed while he kissed her, sliding a hand down the side of her body to wrap around her waist while the other was tangled in her wet hair. His lips were warm, despite the fact they were wet from the rain and they warmed hers, the feeling spreading throughout her body and getting rid of the coldness within. He kissed her in a way that was certainly making her feel weak in the knees and she soon found herself returning the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck in an effort to draw him closer to her.

She never thought it would happen. Never in her wildest dreams would she imagine Draco Malfoy kissing her and she would be kissing him back. Well, maybe she had lately dreamt of kissing him as he was constantly on her mind and they had almost kissed after Slughorn's party. To feel the gentle lips against hers now, in the pouring rain, was a wonderful feeling and she hoped to Merlin that this wasn't a dream.

The rain continued to pour, getting heavier as the two teenagers lost themselves in their kiss, their clothes absolutely soaked. Hermione could taste water, but she didn't know whether it was from the rain or from her tears of both happiness and sadness.

Happiness because she had found someone who would never push her away, but sadness because _she_ had to push him away. Draco was a Death Eater now and both would be in danger if she allowed this to go further.

She tried to will herself to pull away from the kiss, but she was in too deep. She felt his tongue lick her lips gently and they parted of their own accord, allowing him to deepen the kiss which he did so passionately. She moaned into his mouth and pressed herself closer to him, her fingers reaching to his hair and feeling the wet, but yet soft locks. Everything around them seemed to melt away, along with the rain. It was hard to pull away when a kiss made her feel like this.

Thankfully, it was her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen that made her pull away from his soft lips, gasping for air. She rested her head against his shoulder as she tried to get her breath back and she faintly smiled as she heard Draco take deep breaths. He too was lacking some oxygen.

They stayed their in each other's arms, just silently holding one another for awhile as the rain poured heavily. Hermione didn't notice the rain. She didn't notice anything except Draco and the fact he was holding her in a warm embrace. For the first and only time.

She shivered pleasantly as she felt him plant a kiss upon her wet forehead and whisper the three words she never thought she would hear from him.

"I love you."

She froze, amazed at his use of the three words that expressed such strong feelings of admiration. She loved him too … in a way. In her opinion, sixteen – actually, seventeen in her case – was much too young to be telling someone they loved them. Especially if they used to be their enemy only a few months ago.

Plus, she couldn't allow herself to get so emotionally attached to him, now that she knew he was a Death Eater. They would be in so much danger if they allowed themselves to have a relationship and hold such strong feelings for each other.

She sighed and gently pushed herself from his embrace. "Don't," she murmured.

"Don't what?"

"Don't say that. Don't say you love me."

"But I do, with all my heart."

Hermione gazed at him sadly. "We're too young to be thinking of that sort of thing," she said, her tone serious. "Not only that, but we're on opposite sides of the war. You-Know-Who would kill you if he knew that you fell for a Mudblood, the one who was friends with Harry Potter. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care!" Draco growled, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. "I don't care what he thinks! All I care about is you."

"I care about you too," she replied, nodding at him. "I care about you so much that I don't want you to be found out as a traitor and be killed. He wouldn't be the only one who wouldn't like us together. Everyone would be against us, Draco, because of their differences. It wouldn't work out."

"Hermione –"

"I'm sorry, Draco." She kissed him on the lips one last time and stepped back a good distance away from him. She gave him a sad smile before walking away and leaving him standing in the pouring rain.

She walked into the castle this time and up the Grand Staircase, her heart feeling more empty than it ever had been and her head in a daze. She couldn't believe what had just occurred in the rain, but it had been ultimately both the best and worst moment of her life.

The best moment because she had found the one person who wouldn't reject her and the worst because _she _had to be the one to reject him. Reject him because of the secret he had just revealed to her twenty minutes previously.

Boy, she had just crushed his heart as well as hers. He had even told her he loved her. She hadn't said the same in return. He would be thinking she didn't love him at all.

But she did. It just wasn't the right time to actually love him completely. She couldn't love a Death Eater, after all.

She reached the portrait hiding the Gryffindor Common Room, water dripping from her hair and her clothes as she tried to remember the password. She glanced down to see the drips were making a puddle and she raised her head to meet the Fat Lady's curious eyes.

"Got caught in the rain?" she grinned.

Hermione nodded. She then suddenly remembered what this week's password was and felt her eyes water again, burying her head in her hands as she recalled what she had been through with four different boys and began to regret what she had just done.

"_Rejection_," she whispered.


End file.
